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Yeast-free Turkish Poğaça (cheese stuffed rolls)

Close overhead shot of white platter with oval shaped cheese stuffed rolls - yeast-free Turkish pogaca.
Yeast-free Poğaça - cheese filled Turkish rolls. Quicker to make than my yeast-based Poğaça recipe, these are great for breakfast or as a savoury snack.
Caro @ Caroline's Easy Baking Lessons
Prep Time 1 hour 12 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Serving Size 16 Rolls

Equipment

  • Digital scales or measuring cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • Spatula or Wooden Spoon
  • Baking/parchment paper
  • Knife & chopping board
  • Brush
  • Small Bowl
  • Cooling rack

Ingredients

For The Dough

  • 250 ml Yoghurt (8½ fl oz, 1 cup, thick-set plain/natural*)
  • 125 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (½ cup, 4¼ fl oz, see note*)
  • 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar (see notes*)
  • ½ tsp Sugar
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 2 Eggs (medium/large UK, large/extra large US)
  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 30 grams Butter (1 oz, ¼ cup, melted)
  • 565 grams Plain Flour (20 oz, 4½ cups, All Purpose flour, see notes*)
  • 2½ tsp Baking Powder (omit if using UK Self-raising)

For The Filling:

  • 250 grams Turkish White Cheese (Peynir) (8¾ oz, see notes*)
  • 125 grams Spinach (4½ oz, ½ bag, can use more*)

For The Topping:

  • 1 Egg white (from above)
  • 1-2 tsp Milk (or oil)
  • Seeds (Çörek Otu /Nigela Seeds, Sesame Seeds etc)

Instructions

Prepare The Dough:

  • Melt the 30 grams Butter and leave to the side. Add 1 Egg yolk, 2 Eggs, 250 ml Yoghurt, the 125 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar, the ½ tsp Sugar & 2 tsp Salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together and then add in the melted butter. Alternatively, add one ingredient at a time, mixing in-between each addition.
  • Mix the 2½ tsp Baking Powder in with the 565 grams Plain Flour, then gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. About a ladle/1 cup at a time, mixing well, until you have a manageable dough. It will have a soft feel but not be smooth like bread dough. You have added enough flour when you can mould a small piece into a ball. (See the video or process photos before this card for reference).
  • Flour dust some baking/parchment paper, on top of a chopping board & turn out the dough. Form into a disc & cut in half with a floured large knife. Take half the dough, form into a disc and cut in half again. Form that half into a disc and cut 4 triangles. Repeat with the other small half and make another 4 pieces. Repeat the process again with remainingg dough until you have 16 triangles of dough, about the same size.
  • Flour your palms and form one piece of dough into a small ball. See my video for my method. Repeat with the remaining 15 pieces of dough & then leave to rest while you prepare the filling.

Prepare The Filling:

  • Wash and blot dry the 125 grams Spinach & roughly chop. Make sure as dry as possible. Same with the 250 grams Turkish White Cheese (Peynir) if using - some have a lot of liquid and need that squeezed off. The harder the cheese however, the less moisture there will be. Once ready, mix the cheese and spinach together.

Form The Rolls:

  • Prepare 2 baking sheets/baking trays with baking/parchment paper & preheat oven to: 200°c/180°c fan oven/400°f/Gas Mark 6. Flour a small piece of paper and take one ball of dough, placing on the paper & opening out with your hands. No need for a rolling pin. Pat out to about palm width (4"/10cm) & then thin the edge by about a finger width.
  • Take about 1-1½ heaped tbsp of filling and place in the centre, making a line of filling, but leaving a gap at the ends. Close the rolls by bringing together the top and bottom of the dough, meeting in the centre and pinching closed. You should have an oval shape. Turn the roll over and rock back & forth to smooth the join. Mix the remaining 1 Egg white with 1-2 tsp Milk & brush on the roll before topping with Seeds (optional). Place on the prepared tray & repeat with the rest.

Bake The Poğaça Rolls:

  • Place in the centre of the oven & bake for 15-20 minutes until a deep golden colour & risen. Turn them over after about 15 minutes and brush on any remaining egg wash, then bake for another 3 - 4 minutes till coloured.
  • Allow to cool still on the tray, but over a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing the tray. Then leave to cool enough to eat.

Serving & Storing:

  • Serve the yeast-free Poğaça a little warm or eat at room temperature. Classically enjoyed with Turkish tea (çay - pronounced ch-eye).
  • I don’t recommend placing in the fridge as it can cause condensation. Store in food bags and even in cake or cookie tins, somewhere not too warm & they will be fine for up to 4 days.

Video

Notes

Yoghurt - use any thick-set plain/natural yoghurt, like Greek-style.  Zero fat Greek-style yoghurt works too.
Oil - Extra Virgin Olive Oil is used, but any neutral oil will be fine.
Cider Vinegar - alternatives are white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, regular vinegar or even lemon juice.
Extra close shot of a halved Turkish yeast-free pogaca roll, showing white cheese and spinach filling.
Eggs - make sure at room temperature.  Left-over egg white is used for an egg-wash when mixed with a little milk or even oil.
Flour - Plain (All Purpose) flour listed in the recipe, but I have made using UK Self-raising flour before too.  Just make sure not to include the baking powder, if using Self-raising.  Also, the amount of flour used is approximate.  You might need a little less or a little more.
Cheese - soft white Turkish cheese used (Peynir, read more before this recipe card), but you can use Feta if need be or a mature cheese (sharp cheddar) & chopped onion.  Grate the cheddar & mould into a sausage or oblong shape, shorter than the width of rolled out dough.  Seal really well.
Extra close shot of 2 halves of a Turkish yeast-free pogaca roll, with mature/aged cheddar cheese, showing texture.
Spinach - - be sure to wash & well dry the spinach to avoid too much moisture, or use flat leaf parsley. About 1/2 a bag of spinach is used but you can use more.
Toppings - Çörek Otu, Turkish name for Nigella Seeds, is classic, as well as sesame seeds (but are optional).
Recipe Yield - 16 rolls, oval & about 4"/10cm long.  The recipe can be halved or increased.
Sweet Version - I am working on a sweet version, so be sure to check back.
For the original, yeast-based version, see my Quicker Poğaça rolls recipe.
Photo of several slices of a cheese and tomato topped Turkish Pide pizza, ovan long shaped, on a pink plate, with pink napkin and Turkish tea glass to the background.
More Turkish recipes can be found on the website - Lahmacun (meat topped no bake Turkish flatbread).  Ramazan Pidesi (Turkish bread), Börek - Turkish Cheese & Spinach Pastry or Cheese Pide (Turkish-style pizza).
Try my other yeast-free 30 Minute Cheesy Bread that can be made in the air fryer.
Slice of orange coloured cheesy herb topped triangle slice of bread, leaning on pile of other slices.
Nutritional Information - I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate.  These are based on 1 serving, of 1 Poğaça roll, using ingredients listed & for Turkish white cheese, zero fat Greek-style yoghurt & with a yield of 16 rolls.  Make bigger or smaller rolls, and these values will change.  All vlaues calculated via MyFitnessPal.com.
Nutrition Facts
Yeast-free Turkish Poğaça (cheese stuffed rolls)
Serving Size
 
1 roll
Amount per Serving
Calories
311
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
18
g
28
%
Saturated Fat
 
8
g
50
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
6
g
Cholesterol
 
25
mg
8
%
Sodium
 
396
mg
17
%
Potassium
 
57
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
 
27
g
9
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
1
g
1
%
Protein
 
9
g
18
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.